Cranberry and Banana Bread

What do you do when your freezer door won't close?  You ram your bum up against it and keep pushing until the realisation hits home that the rule of "thou must taketh something out" kicks in.  If rationing ever gets introduced, you'll know where to come - just so you know! 

The other day, I took 4 bananas and a half tub of cranberries out of the freezer.  Door closed, now what was I going to do with the ingredients?  I found this wonderful banana bread recipe on Joy the Bakers site.  I'm so happy with this bread.  It's spicy, it's moist, it's sweet and it's just a teeny bit tart.  It's absolutely perfect.  It's very different to any of my other banana bread recipes in that the taste of the bananas doesn't come through very strong but they give it that lovely moist texture.  Such a simple recipe and definitely one I'll be making over and over again.

Banana and Cranberry Bread, adapted from Joy The Baker

I have been asked by some US readers if I could use cup measures or at least the imperial measurements.  Happy to oblige when I can.

Ingredients

3 large or 4 medium bananas, mashed

70g (1/3 cup) butter, melted and cooled slightly

50g (1/4 cup) white sugar 

70g (1/3 cup) brown sugar

1 egg beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp dark rum (optional)

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Pinch ground cloves

120g (3/4 cup) plain flour

115g (3/4 cup) spelt or wholemeal flour (I used spelt)

100g (1 cup) fresh or frozen cranberries

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and grease and line a 900g (2 lb) loaf tin. With a wooden spoon, mix the butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and rum, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour, mix. Add the cranberries, and stir until just incorporated.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.

BAM Loaf

HORRAY!  I’ve just booked a flight to London with my sister.  We’re going in mid February (not only will I have given birth by then, but hopefully the (as yet unborn) baby will be sleeping through the night so that I’ll feel human again and will be looking forward to a weekend away (a whole THREE days away, so it’s virtually a holiday, right?).  I know it’s a full 4 months away, but already I’m counting down the days (spot the girl who never gets out). I’ll have to relearn a whole new set of social skills for the occasion!  We’re going to spend one full day visiting the well known cafes in London, the ones that are so popular that we’ve all bought the books (go on, admit it, you’re no different to the rest of us, you have at least one of the books!).  There’s The Hummingbird Cafe, Primrose Cafe, Candy Cakes, Peyton and Byrne and the Outsider Cafe.  Think it might be wise to pack my stretchy pants then. 

This is a recipe from The Outsider Tart “Baked in America” book (excellent book, but only for those with a SERIOUS sweet tooth).  BAM stands for bananas, apricot and macadamia nuts.  Macadamia nuts are expensive and may not widely available, so I made the loaf in the picture with walnuts which work just as well as macadamias.  You don’t actually taste the All-Bran but it’s nice to know it’s there – it justifies a slice for breakfast or as part of a packed lunch.

BAM Bread from “Baked in America” by The Outsider Tart

Ingredients

300g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

¾ tsp salt

175g unsalted butter, softened

225g granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 tbsp vanilla extract

75g-115g All Bran cereal

450g mashed bananas

175g dried apricots, diced

175g macadamia nuts, chopped

75g-115g chocolate chips (optional)

1x900g (2 lb) loaf tin greased and lined with baking parchment

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  On a low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the vanilla and mix for another minute.

Add the cereal, as it gets crunched up by the mixer, you will end up with uneven cereal strands.

Alternately add the flour mixture and mashed banana, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing only until just combined.

Fold in the apricots, nuts and chocolate chips (if using).

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the loaf is a deep brown and a skewer emerges clean from the centre.  Cool in the tin for about 20 mins before allowing to cool completely on a wire rack.